The style
director Guan Hu (Cow, Design of Death) uses in The Chef, The Actor, and The Scoundrel
reminded me of Baz Luhrman’s early films, utilizing the over-exaggerated style
of Peking opera and silent Chinese cinema for slapstick humor and visual
hyperactivity. This appears to be an over-indulgence of style, but as the film
continues the plot reveals reasons for these choices. I found myself going from
irritation at the film’s over-acting and forced comedy to a complete shift in
my opinion and appreciation of Hu’s choices.

Angela Mao had a
surprisingly short career, but it was an also influential and groundbreaking in
enough ways for her legacy to remain decades later. Even today there are very
few female martial arts stars, and when Angela Mao appeared onscreen in the
early 1970s she blazed trails with each powerful kick. She wasn’t the first
female martial artist, but her ability to carry a film rather than just support
it made her a star. This six-film collection includes a few films where Ying
takes a smaller role in the narrative, but there are also some great examples
of her leading lady abilities. The quality of the film transfers for some of
these Golden Harvest releases are less than ideal, including a lot of static
and scratches in the image and occasionally sub-par subtitling, but this Shout
Factory release does provide quantity for a price that fans can afford.

Upon hearing
that there would be a Showtime series entitled “Masters of Sex,” I immediately
assumed it to be a spin-off of the anthology series, “Masters of Horror.” They
did the same with science fiction as well, so I just assumed that we were going
to get a series of hour-long erotica from various infamous film-fornicators.
Instead, this series plays more like a sexed-up “Mad Men,” with pioneers in
scientific research of sex in the 1950s rather than the marketing world of the 1960s.
Character development takes precedence over any clear direction in the
storyline; though there is a clearer progression in the scientific discoveries
throughout season one.

“Regular Show”
is one of those odd Cartoon Network series which walks the line between
entertainment for children and for adults, mostly due to the irreverence in the
show’s sense of humor. It is intentionally odd, with a type of logic that
adheres only to the mind of a child or pot-head, which seems to be the target
audience. This isn’t likely to be a universal hit, but the fans tend to be
loyally dedicated to the series. Having a release for a show with fans is a
double-edged sword, however, because they may be more likely to make a purchase
but also tend to have higher expectations. With the first two seasons
previously distributed on Blu-ray in greater quality and with more special
features, fans may find reason to complain about this season three DVD release.

There were times
that the aggressive violence of Joe Begos film, including some graphic gore
effects, reminded me of early Peter Jackson films. Jackson
also learned how to utilize his budget by creatively creating the gore effects
in his New Zealand
horror films, and this is one aspect of filmmaking which Begos has proved
himself capable in. It is in every other capacity of storytelling where his
amateur abilities are more apparent. While the action and visual effects looked
better than the budget, the dialogue and acting suffer from neglect and lack of
talent.

Jimmy P. is a buddy-therapy film,
belonging in the extremely small sub-genre of films that would also include Good Will Hunting and Antwone Fisher. That the narrative and
characters are borrowed from real-life events is almost disappointing, because
of how little actually happens within the narrative. Even the friendship
between the two leads feels glossed over, which is odd considering the plot
contains little other than their sessions together. Everyone does their job
well. The direction from Arnaud Desplechin (A
Christmas Tale) is competent, the acting by Benicio Del Toro is
appropriately soulful, and Mathieu Amalric brings buoyancy to his role despite
being cast against type. With all of these talented elements, Jimmy P. still never manages to blend
into a complete package.

Educational
reality series used to be the type of programs only watched by teachers and
their students under forced conditions in the classroom. While I can still
imagine “Cosmos” being shown in more than a few science classrooms across the
country, it is a series which can be shown for the ability to portray
information in an entertaining manner rather than simply providing educators a
break from their job. Credit is mostly due to the technical aspects of these type
of series, which seemed to reach a significant turning point with the
overwhelming success of the use of high definition cameras in the filming of
“Planet Earth.” The widespread success of that series proved that when a Hollywood approach to effects and visuals are applied to
educational shows, audiences will watch them without being forced to in a
classroom setting.

I truly had no
idea that there was even a Joy Ride 2,
in all honesty, but Joy Ride 3 is
pretty much exactly what I would expect from a low-budget sequel to the
long-forgotten road rage thriller scribed by J.J. Abrams. Normally I don’t even
think that it matters too much who directs these trashy grabs for cash in the
home entertainment department of successful studios, but the fact that Joy Ride 3 is written and directed by
Declan O’Brien is telling of the quality to be expected. O’Brien’s filmography
is filled with low-budget horror, but his most significant credits include
three straight-to-video sequels of another moderately popular thriller from the
past; Wrong Turn.

Sometimes actors
are able to catapult their careers by showcasing their abilities with a
screenplay that they wrote for themselves. Good Will Hunting is a perfect
example of this, managing to make stars out of two supporting actors with a
screenplay that understood how to utilize their talents onscreen. No Clue is an attempt to do the same,
but more than anything it merely showcases Brent Butt’s inability to carry a
film.

It is pretty
amazing to consider that just over twenty-years ago a film like this would not
have been possible in South
Korea due to censorship laws. Their national
cinema has burst forth as one of the most impressive worldwide in the last two
decades, and The Attorney is yet
another example of their ability to learn from the success of Hollywood while retaining uniquely South
Korean elements. It is a true-story courtroom drama, but this does not stop
director Wook-seok Yang from inserting humor into the film, making for an
extremely watchable film full of depth.

This is clearly
the most personal film to come from Canadian director Damian Lee, and despite a
few stumbles along the way, A Fighting
Man is still standing on two feet when that final bell rings. Lee doesn’t
reinvent the boxer film, nor does he seem to be trying to, but instead he has a
simple idea executed with previously unseen levels of precision. Whether Lee’s
ability to capture the energy of boxing comes from his own past experiences as
a professional fighter or simply a sign of his development as a filmmaker, A Fighting Man is an impressive little
addition to the genre.